BB gun photoin text messagesbeing investigated

North Greene says quick response showed no danger posed

WHITE HALL — School officials said police quickly handled a series of text messages that raised concerns about a threat at North Greene High School last week.

Although it was determined there was little reason for alarm, the district said it provided an opportunity to review security protocols.

About 1:43 p.m. Wednesday, White Hall Police were called to North Greene High School after personnel reported several seeing several threatening text messages. The messages, sent from 16-year-old boy to another student, included pictures of the boy holding what appeared to be a handgun.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Department and police from Roodhouse and White Hall searched the boy’s house and discovered a BB gun that matched the description of the weapon in the pictures, as well as some drug paraphernalia.

Police took the boy into custody. He was released later that day.

“While no actual firearms were discovered, it is essential that we take these situations seriously and act on them quickly in order to ensure the safety of the students and the public,” White Hall Chief of Police Luke Coultas said. “This situation is still under investigation and a report has been sent to the Greene County State’s Attorney for review.”

School Superintendent Lawrence Coultas said that while the district takes every threat seriously, this one in particular was quickly determined not to present a danger.

“I don’t want to downplay anything, because anything can be a threat any more,” Coultas said. “You have to examine every situation independently. This was a case where there was some text-messaging that came to our attention. We looked into it, did all the things we thought were necessary to keep our students safe, we did all the protocols in place, and decided that this was not something we should be alarmed by.”

The matter was discussed during a meeting that night.

Although there is no such thing as a foolproof plan, Coultas said he believes that the school’s security measures — such as exterior doors with access codes, surveillance systems and locked interior doors — provide students with a high level of safety.

“We will continue to evaluate our security protocols at all times because there’s nothing more important than student safety,” Coultas said. “We feel pretty good about what we have in place. You have to take a look at where you’re at and what you’re doing and most importantly keep people aware of what’s going on within the school.”

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.